Just the Girl
by kidacrossthestreet1
Summary: He knew that if he could have gotten with Hermione a while ago, he would be happy. This was actually his first time seeing her in a long time; maybe he had his chance right in front of him. By the end of the reunion, He would get the courage to ask to see her again. Song- Just the Girl by: The Click Five


Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and the song "Just the Girl" is by The Click Five

Just the Girl

_She's cold and she's cruel  
But she knows what she's doing  
She pushed me in the pool  
At our last school reunion  
She laughs at my dreams  
But I dream about her laughter  
Strange as it seems  
She's the one I'm after_

Graduation. Eight years ago he walked up the platform in the great hall and accepted his diploma from the head deputy, Minerva McGonagall. He graduated second to top of his class, only after her. Hermione Granger walked past the punch bowl and across the lawn of Theodore Nott's manor. The reunion was full of his old classmates, who mingled as the introduced their significant other, young children, or friend.

He stood on the patio watching the Hogwarts alumni greet their former housemates, everyone smiled as they saw another familiar face. Hufflepuffs' giggled and hugged each other, sharing stories of their child's first steps, or how their flower gardens were in bloom this time of year. Ravenclaws' were engrossed in a discussion on the workplace, while laughing about a witty comment. His own Slytherins' were snickering in their own small groups, usually making a comment on how they couldn't believe she wore that, or how strange it was to see that man with children. Gryffindors' ran about, hugging and laughing with all their old friends. Same old, same old; gossip floated around about who needed to lay off the cauldron cakes, or who was in need of a makeover.

Hermione Granger was in a conversation with a few of her old advanced transfiguration friends. The last few years of school had changed his feelings toward the brilliant witch. Having so many classes together had pushed them to become friends. Since his sixth year, they would meet in the library at four, while Weasel and the Boy Wonder had practice. They studied and joked about teachers, and laughed at the shallowness of some of their classmates. By their seventh year they had snuck out to the library more, and more often, to see each other.

Her humor was vicious. Every time he would slip up on the assignment, he was met with a sarcastic remark about how 'amazing it was that he was passing this class', or 'how spot-on his answer was' and she would roll her eyes. Their early meetings were strictly studious. He would make some snide remark on her hair and she would snap back about some part of his personality. He could tell by the way she could get on his nerves that she knew exactly what buttons to push. They could sit in silence for the longest time, and he would know she was fuming about something, or planning his slow, painful death. She had this way of glaring at him that made him want to glare back, but he couldn't.

He saw her ascend the steps to the large stone patio, next to the pool, and begin to mingle with the completely incompetent, and seven-month pregnant, Lavender Weasley. The Weasleys were married about two years out of Hogwarts and now had four kids, with one on the way. He watched as Hermione reached out and rubbed the other woman's belly, and they laughed.

He didn't realize he had started to walk to them, until he was standing right next to them.

"Can I help you Malfoy?" Hermione stared up at him, while picking up something Lavender had dropped. She had her eyebrows raised and looked at him expectedly.

"Um, I was just wondering, um…" He had absolutely no Idea what to say. He grabbed a piece of pizza off the nearby table, and at that moment, Blaise Zabini chose to come and clap him on the back.

The pizza was knocked from his hand, onto her chest, getting sauce and cheese all down her light yellow sundress. He froze, his mouth hanging open, and his eyes flitted to her face. She looked shocked, and then angry, her hands balling into fists.

She shoved his shoulders, and he stumbled back, and tripped over Theo's pool. He fell backwards into the icy water, and tried to hold his breath as he went under. When he resurfaced he gasped and sputtered, shaking his head like a dog, so he could see better. She had magically cleaned her dress and was laughing, along with most of the other reunion guests. His clothes clung to his body as he pulled himself out of the water, and by the time he was standing, he was grinning. She had played him, and made him actually believe she was angry. He knew it took a lot more than something like this to get her upset.

When they were in the library together as kids, they would talk about their plans for after graduation. Their dreams were similar, success, family, and happiness. She would laugh when he talked of coming back to teach at Hogwarts. "Draco Malfoy, work with children? Never!" He would watch her smile, and laugh at her own jokes, and knew that she was what he wanted.

Her dreams were set in motion by this time in her life. She was immensely successful at her job; he knew many men had feelings for her, and you could tell even without knowing her, that she was happy. He on the other hand, has hardly in the direction he wanted to go. He was really good at his job, but it didn't make him happy. He sat in an office all day, and went to boring meetings; he was well-paid, but bored. He knew many women wanted him, but all the women with any brains, or a great personality, were married or not interested. Aside from his friends, he wasn't really happy.

He knew that if he could have gotten with Hermione a while ago, he would be happy. This was actually his first time seeing her in a long time; maybe he had his chance right in front of him. By the end of the reunion, He would get the courage to ask to see her again.

_'cause she's bittersweet  
She knocks me off of my feet  
And I can't help myself  
I don't want anyone else  
She's a mystery  
She's too much for me  
But I keep coming back for more  
She's just the girl I'm looking for_

"Watch where you're going Malfoy!" shouted Scarface over by his wife Ginny, the two had been married for two years, and this is the first since then, that he had seen Hermione.

He had been invited to the Potter/Weasley wedding, after he had worked with Harry in the legal department of the ministry for a few years. The two had become somewhat friends, and were always looking for ways to get off work early. At the wedding, he had been sitting alone by the buffet when Hermione came over to him, and asked him to dance. Not one to be impolite, the danced a few songs together before another man asked to cut in. When the reception began to wind down, they visited the gardens together, and when they passed a rosebush, he plucked one off and tucked it into her complicated up-do. When he was finished, she tucked a rose into his lapel. He caught her hands there, and held them to him. They began to lean towards each other, but the doors to the ballroom flew open as a few drunken guests stumbled out. They jumped apart and he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. They started for the doors, and when they reached them, she stood on her toes, and pecked his cheek.

As they were beginning to leave, she hadn't spoken a word to him since they were in the garden, leaving him immensely confused. This time, he would be sure to have the last words.

He was completely fascinated with the patience she had with some people. Being friends with Weasley and Potter must have been a huge factor in that. She was a great listener too. When people went on and on about themselves, she was able to nod and continue the conversation without missing a beat.

Back at Hogwarts, she was the only girl who had ever stood up to him. Even the other Gryffindor girls would just mumble before running off to rejoin their friends. She seemed to be the only female in the entire place that was not charmed by him. Even the older girls seemed to fall at the feet of Draco Malfoy, dying for a chance to go to Hogsmeade with him, or to visit the shrieking shack the next weekend. That had to be what intrigued him, her complete disinterest, and he knew he didn't want any other girl.

_She can't keep a secret  
For more than an hour  
She runs on 100 proof attitude power  
And the more she ignores me  
The more I adore her  
What can I do?  
I'd do anything for her_

One time in their early days of visiting the library together, it had gotten to be late, books lay forgotten on the table in the center of the cozy study room. The two sixteen year olds lay draped over their own arm chairs, in front of the fire, exhausted.

"Truth or dare, Granger." He said, with his eyes shut, legs over one arm of the chair, neck on the other.

"God," she groaned, "We are not playing this." Lying in the same position, she had her arm draped over her face and had a scowl on her mouth.

"Yes we are. Truth or dare?" he insisted, still not looking up.

"How about truth or truth? I pick truth." She continued in a monotone voice, with her face still buried in the crook of her arm.

"Fine, have you ever liked Potter?" he grinned despite her inability to see her. he knew the answer would be no.

"God, no. why does everyone think that?" she whined, Making him grin even wider.

"Because you have no female friends. My turn, truth." His grin had settled into a smirk. His answers would be vague enough that they wouldn't reveal too much.

"Who do you like?" she asked, with the ghost of humor on her voice.

He thought about it a moment before answering in a thoughtful voice. "Someone from a different house." He looked at the clock on the wall and saw that they had stayed half an hour later. "Time to go?" he asked getting off the chair.

She nodded and gathered her things before leaving behind him. Little did he know, that by dinner, every girl in the great hall would be guessing the object of his affections.

Coming back to the present, Draco laughed with Potter, before shaking out the remaining water in his hair all over the bright, young woman who pushed him in.

"Ew! That is disgusting!" she snapped, causing men to laugh and women to look at them disapprovingly, while he grinned at her.

He was reminded of their school days, when she would ignore him, and he would try everything to get a reaction from her. Desperately he would try to get her attention, and to get a rise out of her. When he was successful, he felt pride at being able to her to react.

_'cause she's bittersweet  
She knocks me off of my feet  
And I can't help myself  
I don't want anyone else  
She's a mystery  
She's too much for me  
But I keep coming back for more  
She's just the girl I'm looking for_

Her smile always made the people around her light up too. She had so many friends without really trying. The girl he saw laughing with her friends had always made him smile. He was glad she had the friends she did. The fact that the only problems she ever seemed to have were not studying enough, or that her honey browns curls could be uncontrollable, was actually kind of nice. Generally nice people never had anything to worry about, and were always happy. People were drawn to her easy-going nature, and pleasant atmosphere. If he could go back to his sorting, he might have asked for Gryffindor, just to have the school experience she had.

He was terribly happy he had the chance to make up for how awful he was, and could become friends with her. His friendship with her was something he treasured through the last two years of school. They had laughed together a ton of times, and had helped to erase some bad blood between houses.

_And when she sees it's me  
On her caller ID  
She won't pick up the phone  
She'd rather be alone  
But I can't give up just yet  
Cause every word she's ever said  
Is still ringing in my head  
Still ringing in my head_

She used to purposely ignore his dinner invitations, and his letters would return unopened. He was never too offended because she used to do the same thing when they were in school. He would invite her to visit the village with him, and she would not be bothered to even open the letter. He would watch her from across the great hall to see if she had gotten his letter, and when she saw his owl, she would blush and shoo it away. Later on in the library she would grin and talk about keeping up appearances. He knew she never like to visit hogsmeade though; too many people and it was a waste of study time.

He never let it bother him, because it allowed for them to be together in the library. He eventually got her out a couple times and made sure she had a good time. He would buy her favorite candy at Honeydukes and though she would refuse to take it, he made sure it was in her pocket at the end of the day.

He would listen to her as she spoke, hanging on every word she said, nodding and asking questions, just to hear her voice. He would think about her theories and counter them with his own, which left them in debate for hours on end. They never really fought, though they would throw a few meaningless insults back and forth. At the end of the day, he would lie awake thinking of the brilliant witch who was stealing his heart.

_She's cold and she's cruel  
But she knows what she's doing  
Knows just what to say  
so my whole day is ruined_

Though he completely adored her, she could get under his skin like no one else. She could be immensely stubborn and it really irritated him. Even when he knew he was right, she would insist on her answer, even when she knew he was right too. Once she had an opinion on something, it took a whole lot to change it. Even agreeing to meet up with him in the library took a lot of convincing on his part, about how the two of them could breeze through the work and have time left over to do what they wanted. When she relented, he walked off proudly, leaving her quite frustrated.

When they got into one topic, the conversation usually wasn't over until she said it was. If he thought one thing, she would ask a hundred questions on how he got that answer and what other answers there could be. He more often than not just allowed her to get her way. When he insisted to do things his way, she would sit in silence for the rest of the hour, and often the next few days, and it ruined his good moods.

_'cause she's bittersweet  
She knocks me off of my feet  
And I can't help myself  
I don't want anyone else  
She's a mystery  
She's too much for me  
But I keep coming back for more  
She's just the girl I'm looking for_

The reunion would be over in an hour and a half, and he had yet to greet her properly. He strode up to her, and smiled. She turned around and saw him walking towards her, she turned to the Ravenclaw she had been talking to and excused herself. She nodded in the direction of a large oak tree near the perimeter of Theo's gardens. They walked leisurely to the large tree, before she turned to him and gave him a small hug.

"How are you Draco?" she asked him, before sipping the lemonade from a glass in her hand.

"I'm well, yourself?" he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets, and leaning against the tree. Etched into the bark was a heart with barely legible initials. He absentmindedly traced the shape with his index finger.

"I'm great! I'm thinking about retiring actually." She smiled and looked at a nearby rose bush.

His eyes must have bugged out of his head. "Retire? You're only twenty-five!" he asked, laughing.

She grinned too. "Well I've made plenty of money, and I'm not having as much fun as I used too. I want to open a bookstore actually."

"Shocker!" he grinned, he spotted yellow roses and pulled one off, removing the thorns, and tucked it behind her ear. When he was finished, he leaned on one hand against the tree.

She laughed before sticking one in the breast pocket of his shirt. They looked at each other for a moment before they leaned towards each other and kissed. It was short and sweet, and the best he'd ever had. He grinned and she giggled as they remembered that night at Harry's wedding. They turned as they heard Ginny Potter calling for her.

"I'll see you later Draco. Perhaps I'll take you up on the offer for dinner." She said before running to join her ginger friend.

He pushed off the tree, a light smirk gracing his features, and walked toward the group of Slytherins chatting near the corner of the lawn, leaving behind a fresh heart etched in the trunk of the oak, with their initials, where his hand had been.

_Just the girl  
I'm looking for  
She's just the girl  
I'm looking for  
Just the girl  
I'm looking for  
Just the girl I'm looking for_


End file.
